SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It's been almost a week since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and new concerns about the ruling are surfacing every day. Now, advocates for the foster care system are worried the system will be even more overwhelmed.
Richard Villasana is a foster care advocate and the founder of the San Diego-based organization, Forever Homes for Foster Kids.
Villasana says he's heard some people suggest that children born from unwanted pregnancies can go into the foster care system, but he says the solution is not that simple.
"The problem is that the foster care system is not in any way able to absorb more children because it's in tatters right now," explains Villasana.
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During the pandemic, Villasana says thousands of foster caregivers passed away, stressing the system even more. He worries for the children who could end up without adequate care.
"Force more children into this terrible situation and nobody is stepping up to say we're going to put more money into it," says Villasana.
According to the Children's Law Center of California, almost half a million children are in the foster care system in the U.S. Over 60,000 are in California.
For people like Debbie Bradel, a nurse who advocates for alternative options instead of abortions for women, she says a flawed system shouldn't mean ending a pregnancy.
"I believe that the prison system is a mess and I don't think anyone thinks we should just kill inmates because the system is so flawed. I believe that we, all as good people, need to work as hard as we can to make the social systems that support each other strong," says Bradel.
She hopes instead that more will be done to ensure any child in the system is taken care of properly.
